A Snohomish winery that is one of the oldest in the state has added a Red Mountain vineyard to its land portfolio. 

Quilceda Creek Winery bought a 16.8-acre vineyard planted with Bordeaux varietals from The Duckhorn Portfolio, according to a release. The vineyard, with silt loam soils and wind exposure, sits strategically at 1,100 feet above sea level and two-thirds of a mile from Quilceda Creek’s existing Red Mountain property, Galitzine Vineyard. 

“This is a gorgeous high elevation vineyard, a little closer to the stars,” said Quilceda Creek President Paul Golitzin, in a statement. “The vines, at 12 years old, are just hitting their stride, and I’m excited to work with the additional Bordeaux clones planted here. We are looking forward to optimizing how we farm this site under the leadership of our longtime Vineyard Manager Dan Nickolaus and are extremely excited about its potential.”

Quilceda Creek also has a vineyard along the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills American Viticultural Area, or AVA growing area, south of the Tri-Cities. 

Napa Valley-based Duckhorn announced in May that it would begin downsizing its operations to focus on its core four wineries – all in California – as well as other properties the company said represent 96% of its net sales. 

In June, Duckhorn closed its Canvasback tasting room in Walla Walla, as well as two others for other labels in California. All three labels had seen total gross profit declining over the past 12 months.  

“We are gratified that a winery as exceptional as Quilceda Creek appreciates the quality of the site, and we’re confident they will be excellent stewards,” said PJ Alviso, vice president of Winegrowing for The Duckhorn Portfolio, in a statement.